Fifth year at Hogwarts
by kristin1
Summary: Harry goes on to fifth year.Wrote this when I was bored
1. Default Chapter Title

Author's note: This is my first time writing a fanfiction. story That's about it, I guess.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a bright, sunny morning as Harry woke up on his lumpy bed in his small bedroom in #4 Privet Drive. Slowly, he rubbed his eyes to adjust to the sunlight pouring from his window. 

__

Yes, he thought. _I finally made it to September first!_

This hasn't been an easy summer. The Dursleys, if possible, seemed to hate him even more after seeing him well and alive at King's Cross. (Apparently, they had high hopes that he was going to die in the Triwizard Tournament.) Harry also sensed this ,seeing their gloomy and disappointed faces as he approached to them, a dirty , messy boy carrying his owl in one hand and clutching to his luggage and cauldron in the other. From that point on, everything went downhill. Dudley seemed to have lost a few hundred pounds after surviving on grapefruits the previous summer, and kept beating up Harry every time he saw him. It also didn't help that the Dursleys thought chasing Harry around the house and hitting him was a very good way for Dudley to stay in shape, or that they made him write to Sirius every other week and forcing him to write about how much he was enjoying his vacation. In fact, they were on the verge of making him sleep in the dark cupboard again under the stairs.

But then, a miracle happened.

Harry was mowing the lawn one day when he happened to look down at something long and dark green slithering in the grass. Without thinking, he started to talk to the gardener snake in Parseltongue :"_Move out of the way or let the lawn mower will chop you into pieces!" _he warned.

"_yesss massster. Sssorry to bother you." _the snake said.

It was then that he realized what he could do with his new found friend. He reached out his hand and hissed :"_jump into my hand, I won't hurt you."_

Obediently, the snake crawled up and wrapped himself up in Harry's hand. When it was ready, they set off towards the house and greeted the screaming Aunt Petunia.

Finally, after ten minutes, Aunt Petunia found her voice and cried:

" w-w-what the h-h-hell is that _th-thing_?" 

"It's my pet, Aunt Petunia" he said coolly, raising the slithering snake closer to the poor studdering aunt, making her faint and hit the floor with an earthshattering "thmp"."

"What is going on-" cried Uncle Vernon, but stopped in mid-sentence as he saw his pale, frail, unconscious wife lying on the carpet. But to his greater surprise he then turned to his nephew, who was furiously hissing and spitting at a _snake_.

"BOY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A SNAKE IN THIS HOUSE!" he roared, his face turning the color of boiled tomatoes.

" You scream at me again and I'll make it bite you. I can talk to snakes, you know. And, uh, well, I made it _venomous_ by er....making a potion for it at the end of the school year. He um, got lost in my trunk and I just found him today.'

Seeing Harry was now armed and dangerous, Uncle Vernon narrowed his blood red eyes and snarled " Well, well, well. You may have won this time. But I warn you, you nasty little git, that if I ever even _see_ that _creature_ again , I'll make sure personally that you will NOT be going to that magical school of yours you cherish so much!"

After that little episode, the Dursleys were a little better to him, and eventually Harry freed the snake. He found out that whenever his relatives started become themselves again again, he only had to hiss and act like summoning his pet to make them stop. This, he found, was _very_ funny and entertaining...

But it was also a lonely summer for Harry. Ron and his family went to Romania to visit Charlie and Hermione's family didn't allow a boy to stay at their house. So the most human contact he had was with Dudley, who always screamed and ran whenever he saw Harry. 

As Harry sat in his bed, recalling the events that happened during his summer, he noticed a snowy white owl flying through his window and land on his desk, with a piece of parchment tied to her feet. 

A parchment from Sirius.

Quickly jumping off his bed, Harry snatched the parchment and began to read the long-awaited letter:

__

Dear Harry, it said.

__

I'm sure you're very excited about school starting over again, and I wish you the best of luck for this coming year. Currently I am staying at Moony's place, so if you ever need to contact me, be sure to send Hedwig there. I also have very good news for you. It seems that my niece Isbella is going to Hogwarts this year. She was most insistent on going to your school instead of Beubaxton and she'll be starting her fifth year too, so be sure to help her find her way around the school. I have a feeling that you'll enjoy her company very much...

That's all for now,

Love,

Sirius.

Harry looked over the letter again, making sure he wasn't imagining things. Sirius's _niece_ is coming to Hogwarts?. He pondered for a moment, wondering the appearance of the mysterious stranger when Aunt Petunia tapped loudly on the door and shouted:" WAKE UP AND COME DOWNSTAIRS TO PUT YOUR STUFF IN THE CAR!" Harry quickly put Hedwig back in her cage and seized his trunk before stumbling down the stairs under all the tremendous weight of the luggages. The Dursley's , however, thought it was very amusing and didn't offer any help. Finally, all his belongings were hastily packed in the van. Breakfast was eaten in the car. A cold, lumpy piece of bread with a glass of cold water for Harry while buttered pancakes with syrup and fat, juicy sausages for Dudley. The drive was also unpleasantly quiet, but it took merely minutes for Harry to be dropped off at King's Cross without a word of good bye from his relatives.

Slowly, he set off towards nine and three quarters, and was greeted by Ron on the way.

" Hi Harry! I had the most wonderful summer you could imagine " exclaimed Ron. " We mostly stayed in this building which the muggles call a 'hotel' , but sometimes Fred, George and I would follow Charlie on his way to work. Once, we came face to face with a Welsh Green and it actually fired at the tree we were hiding behind. Needless to say, Charlie was furious with us, but it was worth it. Oh, look! There's Hermione!"

Indeed, Harry saw a blur of blue coming towards him at full force and embracing him and Ron with a tight hug. 

"Oh Harry, Ron, I'm so glad to see you guys! It's been such a long time since I last saw you guys at Diagon Alley. I've been so busy this summer, you know, between catching up on my reading and preparing for all my classes."

" So basically, the mudblood has no social life outside of old, useless books. How much more pathetic can you get?" sniggered Malfoy.

" Perhaps you've forgotten about Viktor Krum?" said Harry.

"Well. er..I..uh, we sorta broke up with him" said Hermione softly.

" Exactly my point. Can't even keep a boyfriend for more than a week, can you? What did you do? Make him look at you?" said Draco, who loved to rub things in.

Hermione was just about to reply when suddenly all of them were distracted by a figure coming closer to them. It was a girl, with a heart shaped face, glowing pink cheeks, big brown eyes, complete with long eyelashes, and curly, flowing , raven black hair reaching down to her slim waist. She stopped in front of them and greeted them with a bright, warm smile that made Harry heart melt. 

" Hi! You must be Harry and his friends" she said in a sing-song voice." Let me introduce myself. I'm Isabella Black. As you probably know, I came from Beaubaxton, but I convinced mum and dad to let me come to Hogwarts this year. I was most impressed at Hogwarts winning the Triwizard Cup this year and a little astonished that my school finished in last place. So I decided to abandon that crummy school and come here instead." 

" Well, the Blacks are one of oldest wizarding families, so no doubt you're a pureblood. Say, I would love to show you around the school, seeing as you're new and all. May I carry your luggage?" Malfoy reached out his hand to take her bags, and gave her a seductve smile.

" Don't listen to him. He is a _Slytherin_, and you don't need them hanging around you. _I'll _carry the bags for you." said Harry, who took the luggages from Malfoy and lead Isabella away.

" Yeah, let scar-boy hang around you. But don't be surprised if a madman pops out of nowhere and kills him." Draco yelled at them.

" At least my dad's not working for the madman!" Harry shouted back.

" No, he's DEAD!" Draco cried.

At that moment, their raging eyes met and at the same time, they ran towards each other and swung their fists. 

Hermione was crying and Ron was trying to join the fight and help Harry, but thought otherwise as Crabbe and Goyle arrived at the scene, Isabelle, however, reacted quickly and shouted " _Petrificus Totalus"_, putting both Harry and Draco in a full body bind. 

" Isabella! You're not supposed to use Magic! Especially in front of Muggles." scowled Hermione, while trying to dry her tears at the same time.

"Oh, so I should just let them kill each other to start the year off , right?" Isabella retorted. "Look, relax, the muggles are just going to think its two bad-tempered teenagers fighting and then stopping because they cooled off a bit"

So Isabella ended up carrying not only her luggage, but hers, Draco's and Harry's while Ron and Crabbe dragged the two annoyed looking boys to platform nine and three quarters. 

And so marks the beginning of fifth year at Hogwarts.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Isabelle. All the other characters belong to J K Rowling.


	2. Default Chapter Title

Author's Note: Thanx for the reviews peeps! I sorta didn't think I would write the second one, but ::shrugs:: since you guys wanted another one, I wrote it. Oh, and by the way, if you review this story, I'll review one of yours. ( whichever one you choose, same goes for my other stories.)

______________________________________________________________________________________________

They soon split up after getting on the train. Crabbe and Goyle dragged Draco to the back of the train while the others founded a nice, empty compartment to themselves in the front, and after Harry finally calmed down, Hermione performed a countercurse to get rid of the bodybind. They soon engaged in a deep conversation, except Isabella, who sat quietly and stared at the window, although lost in a daydream. 

Hermione, seeing Isabella so lonely, asked:" So, what was it like going to Beaubaxton?" 

"Oh" said Isabella, quickly snapping out of her reverie. " It was so terribly boring there. All we ever did is take classes, study, do homework and sleep. Of course, Madam Maxime was also very strict with us. She expected nothing but the best from all of her students. But once in a while there would be a quidditch match. We didn't have houses, just four teams. "

"Well, Hogwarts is definitely better than Beaubaxton. It's the best and safest place in the world. I bet you'll like it. Oh, and we also have fun here." said Ron.

" Oh, is that so? " Isabella said, her face brightening a little. " This school sounds absolutely perfect. And to think, I was almost starting to believe rumors that a basilisk, dementors, a werewolf, an escaped prisoner, and Voldemort himself showed up at Hogwarts these past years."

"Yeah, _rumors._" Harry and Ron looked at each other and nervously laughed.

Hermione, however, was just about to tell her that it was all true when Ron interrupted by asking if Isabella wanted to play a game of wizard chess. Isabella thought for a moment, then helped Ron with setting up the pieces.

* * *

It was nighttime when the train finally arrived at Hogwarts. They were all sleepy and tired, especially Ron, who for the first time in his life, lost 78 chess games in a row.

Harry and the others took off their jackets and changed into their black robes, then followed the others out of the train and into the cold night air. Suddenly, horseless carriages appeared from nowhere, and they all got into it, stopping in front of the entrance to the school.

" So, this is Hogwarts." said Isabella, as she stepped out of the carriage and took a good look at the tall, looming castle in front of her. She then took a deep breath went inside, followed closely by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

As the students gathered around the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall ushered Isabella aside and put her behind the nervous first years to try on the Sorting Hat. When at last it was her turn, she walked up to the podium, gave a confident smile, and sat down and tried on the hat. 

It had been ten minutes since Isabella put the hat on, but still the hat didn't shout out a House. Meanwhile, as the minutes slowly ticked by, every student and teacher in the Great Hall was getting more and more silent and excited, the teachers wondering why the hat still hasn't called out a House yet, and the students praying that it would call out their House(especially the boys). 

Finally, the hat made up its mind at last and shouted out :" GRYFFINDOR!"

Then Gryffindors burst with cheers and applause while the other houses all sulked and booed. This time, Isabella's smile was much bigger as she took a seat next to Harry. 

" Welcome back for another year!" Professor Dumbledore's bright, cheery, voice rang. "I'm sure we'll have a great year. Now, before we get on to the feast, I'd like to introduce your new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, Professor Fevries." 

A tall, shy man with gray hair and funny eyes stood up at the end of the teacher's table, cleared his throat, and said:" I look forward to having you this year." This was followed by an awkward silence, because everyone was waiting for the new teacher to continue his speech, but Professor Fevries had finished talking and was waiting for the applauses from the everyone.

To break the tension that was mounting, Professor Dumbledore said: "And now-what you've all been waiting for. The Feast!"

Enormous amounts of food piled up on each of the golden plates. As the students began to dig in, Professor McGonagall announced to the Gryffindors the new Perfects, Hermione, who beamed, and Dean, who turned pale green.

"A-a-are you sure? I mean, isn't it obvious that Harry should be a Perfect?" Dean asked. Everyone turned to Harry, who blushed furiously and tried to hide behind Isabella.

"Of course I am. " Professor McGonagall snapped. " And to answer your question Dean, one of the teachers strongly opposed Harry of being a Perfect."

Harry followed Professor McGonagall's hard stare and saw Professor Snape at the Slytherin table, busy appointing Draco and Pansy as Perfects.

" Why can't he just leave me alone?" he muttered.

* * *

The next day, Harry woke up earlier than usual, hoping to find Isabella in the common room. Sure enough, a figure was curled up near the fire, with thick book in her lap. For a moment, Harry thought she must've been Hermione, but the face that looked up at him was so stunning that he had to regain control of himself before trying to casually approach to her.

" How long have you been up?" he asked.

" Oh, an hour ago or so. I just couldn't stand Lavender's snores, so I decided to come down here and read this" she showed him the book she was reading, Hogwarts, a History. "Hermione lent it to me."

" Well " Harry said, checking his watch." I think its late enough for them to serve up breakfast in the Great Hall, wanna go now and eat?"

" Yeah, I'm beginning to feel a little hungry." Isabella admitted.

As they made their way down the spiraling stairs, Harry asked a question that was on his mind ever since he heard Isabella speak.

" Uh... I don't mean to be personal, but well... why don't you have a French accent?"

" Oh, you noticed." she said. " I learned English first before I French."

"Huh? You mean you didn't live in France?"

" Of course not. My family used to live in England until I was six years old. But then, mum died of what the muggles call cancer. We didn't know she was sick until it was too late." she bit her lip to keep it from trembling. " So dad moved to France to forget the memories, and a few years later, dad was remarried."

" Oh, I'm really sorry I brought that up" said Harry.

" No, it's okay. I thought Sirius told you, but I guess he didn't...." Isabelle sighed sadly. Her eyes began to water slightly.

" Nice job Potter, making the new girl feel bad on the first day of school." sneered Draco, who turned out to be right behind them, the light from the window shinning upon his Perfect Badge.

" Go and eat shit Malfoy " said Harry furiously.

" Tsk, tsk, tsk Potter" said Draco." Aren't we having trouble with our language? Hmm…no wonder you didn't make Perfect."

Harry was about to lash out when Isabella cut in. " Argue all you want to, but I'm going to get some breakfast" said Isabella, who was now deeply annoyed. She quickly walked away leaving Harry and Draco quarreling in the middle of the stairway.

" Now look what you did!"

" Me? It was you!"

" No! It's your fault!"

* * *

When Ron and Hermione came down to the Great Hall, they spotted their new friend sitting next to Parvati and Lavendar, laughing at some stupid joke Fred and George told them.

" Great, She's smart AND popular." Hermione muttered.

" Huh? " said Ron. " How do you know if she's smart?"

" Oh, puhleeeze Ron, how could you not notice that she beat you 78 TIMES in wizard chess!"

" Hermione, I was um…letting her win, of course." Ron replied indignantly. " I just er-didn't want her to feel bad if she kept losing to me."

" Uh-huh. Surrrrrrre." Hermione rolled her eyes." Then why did your whole face turn red every time you lost ? "

" My face turned red because obviously I was allergic to the carrot cakes!"

" Well, anyways, last night I was trying to transfigure my desk into a pig, and I was having a hard ti-I mean, I was struggling with transfiguring it for some reason. Must be from er-lack of sleep. I guess after trying for two hou-I mean, two minutes, I got a little mad, so Miss Goody-Two-Shoes came up to me and asked me if there was anything wrong. So then. I told her about my little problem, and the next thing I know, with a wave of her wand, a pig was oinking in place of my bed. Of course, she just HAD to show off in front of me, and I bet she knows I know that only sixth years and above could do that kind of transfiguration."

" Yeah well, I didn't really think she was trying to show off. I mean, god, she was just trying to show you how to do it correctly before you started throwing a hissy-fit. You're just jealous. Who knows? Maybe she's just better than you." Ron teased.

" HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME!" Hermione erupted." SHE IS NOT BETTER THAN ME! WELL, I'LL SHOW HER! I'LL SHOW ALL OF YOU!" 

And with that, she stormed off to the common room, not bothering to stop when she saw a Harry with a black-eye and Draco with a bleeding nose.

* * *

Will Hermione spas out again? Will Harry and Draco eventually kill each other? And if not, will Snape or Voldemort kill Harry? (jeez, that boy has a lot of enemies.) Find out in future chapters!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey, if you have any ideas that you want me to know, email me at [classygurl879@yahoo.com][1].

Oh, and somebody told me that they put my pen name in those Author Alert things, but didn't get a notice when I wrote this. Well, my pen name is " kristin", so don't captitalize the k.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Isabella. All characters belong to J K Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishings and Scholastic…blah blah blah….

   [1]: mailto:classygurl879@yahoo.com



	3. Default Chapter Title

Author's note: ::sighs:: Look, I checked the statistics, people clicked on my story 128 times, so why did only 9 people bother to write reviews? To writers, reviews are everything. They encourage you to continue writing and it makes you feel good every time you read about someone enjoying your story. So Please, please, write a review.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

" Well, it looks like we're having Defense Against Dark Arts today, then ::gulp:: double potions." said Ron.

" Just my luck." Harry muttered, as he put a bag of ice over his black eye.

" Hey, have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked.

" Yeah, when I came down, I saw her storming up to the common room. I think I asked her what was wrong, but she just ignored me. What's wrong with her?" said Harry.

" She found out Isabella was smarter than her, and she threw a fit" Ron said between his bites of sausage. " You should've seen her. She kept screaming and said she'd prove that she was better than Isabella. If you ask me, she's finally gone insane."

" Great. First day of school and I already have an enemy "

The boys turned around. Isabella stood behind them, her eyes blazing red.

" Look at it this way Isabella." Harry said soothingly. " Hermione is known in this school for being the 'smart girl'. That's what makes her stand out, her intelligence. And now, suddenly, you come along, and Hermione finds out that you're not only prettier and more popular than her, but you're also smarter. How would you feel?"

But Isabella was even madder now. " What the hell am I suppose to do, though? Walk around with a dirty face and unwashed hair, act dumb in class, and run away screaming when someone talks to me? Just to make Hermione feel _special_? I don't want to change the way I am!" But then, she sighed." But I will talk to her, though. By the way Harry, what happened to your eye? "

" Malfoy hit me. Put I gave him a bleeding nose." Harry said, with a hint of triumph in his voice.

" Augh! I knew I shouldn't have left you two alone." Isabella teased.

* * *

Hermione sat on the rug in the common room, watching the flames slowly die away in the fireplace, tears clouding her view.

Suddenly, the round hole in the wall opened revealing Isabella. Hermione quickly wiped her tears away and stood up and started to walk away, but Isabella ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

" Hermione, we have to talk." she said quietly.

" About what?" Hermione spat. " How _sorry_ you are for me? How you know what it's like? How we have so much in common that we should be buddies and help each other instead? Do me a favor, save the sympathies. "

" Of course not" Isabelle said with a bit of an annoyance. " I think its dumb to think I'm smarter than you just because I can transfigure your bed into a stupid pig, or that I'm good at chess. I mean, classes haven't even started! I bet there are things that you're better than me at, have you thought of that?"

Reluctantly, Hermione slowly started to shake her head.

"And even if I am smarter than you, as you say, " Isabella continued." There will always be someone who's more intelligent than you. Are you going to get upset every time you meet one?"

" I-I guess not..." Hermione said finally." I was being unfair to you, wasn't I?"

" Not really, I guess I did show off yesterday." Isabella admitted. " I mean, I should've just told you that you were pronouncing the spell wrong." Isabella grinned.

For the first time in the school year, Hermione scowled.

" I knew it didn't sound right."

" Uh-huh. Right..."

" No honestly, I did...I just, you know, didn't say anything"

And with that, they laughed and headed towards Defense Against Dark Arts class.

* * *

It turned out Professor Fevries was a very easygoing teacher. The first day, he made the students read a section on blocking curses. Then, they paired up with a partner and put curses on the other one to see if they could block it. At the end of the class, however, Neville wounded up with in the hospital wing when he was jinxed with the jelly legs and the leg locker curse. Professor Fevries had to help him on to the wheelchair since his legs were paralyzed.

But Potions, however, turned out to be a nightmare.

" So, back for another year..." Proffeser Snape snarled. " Well, let's just see if you remember anything that I taught you so far. " He pointed to a thick stack of test papers on his desk piled as high as the eye could see. With a wave of his wand, the papers flew in every direction towards the student's desk.

" But all those who passed with a high mark in my class last year will not have to take it. " he continued. "That means you, Malfoy and it would've also included Miss Granger, but due to accusations of making illegal potions last year, you will have to take this test. "

" B-but, pr-professor, I didn't make Love Potions!" Hermione studdered.

" Are you questioning me, Miss Granger?" Snape replied icily.

" N-no s-s-sir." Hermione said, her lips quivering.

" Professor, I don't think Isabella should take the test." Malfoy chirped.

" I don't see any reason that she shouldn't!" Professor Snape answered.

" Oh, but sir! You obviously are the best Potions teacher out of the three schools. How can Isabella expected to take this exam when obviously she has been educated by some idiot Beaubaxton teacher who we can all assume that he cannot be measured up _your_ standards?" Malfoy replied sweetly.

" Hmm... Yes, Malfoy. I suppose you're right. All right, Miss -what's your last name?"

" Isabella _ Black_"

Snape's eyes turned green as he glared viciously at her.

" Oh, but on the other hand, _all_ students are required to learn the same lessons, and certainly Beaubaxton wasn't an exception.." Snape said silkily." I suppose you thought you could get away with not taking the test by telling me that you had a good-for-nothing professor, didn't you Miss _Black_?"

" But Malfoy told you that." Isabella pointed out.

" Ten points taken off your test for talking back to me! " Snape cried. " And ten points from Gryffindor too! Now get to work! You can thank the _new student_ for taking five minutes from your time."

The rest of the hour was quiet as the students worked on their painstakingly tough exam.

When finally the class ended. Harry's eyes were so sore that he could barely see at all, and he also found out that his hands were so numb from writing so much that he couldn't hold on to his books and had to make Hermione take them for him. On top of everything else, he and Ron had blisters down their backs from Draco shooting sparks at them with his wand. Needless to say, Harry was in a bad mood.

But not as much as Isabella.

" How DARE he!" she exclaimed when they began walking down the hall towards their common room. " Ten points from my test and Gryffindor just because I corrected him??"

" He has a grudge on Sirius and anyone who has any relation to him." Hermione explained. " Sirius and his friends played a mean joke on him when he was a student here at Hogwarts."

" THAT'S ALL?" cried Isabella, obviously outraged." They played some stupid prank on him and he decided to hate every single one of them and their families for as long as he lives?"

" Well, and they also almost killed him." said Ron.

" They would be doing us all a favor." Isabella muttered.

* * *

Remus Lupin sat at his desk, a worried look on his face as the reread the article in the Daily Prophet just as Sirius walked in.

" What's wrong?" he asked.

With a shaking hand, Remus gave the newspaper to Sirius.

****

PRISONERS BREAK OUT OF AZKABAN

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Magic arrived in Azkaban to find ALL the prisoners gone. It was also reported that the dementors also disappeared on the same day. Speculators say that the dementors may have helped the prisoners escape, which leads accusations into saying that there is a chance that You-Know-Who is back.

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, has denied these accusations " We don't know for sure how this happened, but I can inform you this does not have any relation to any rumors of the Dark Lord rising again. We will take care this matter immediately, so please be rest assured that we have this problem under control." 

Sirius stared at the newspaper as if it was a foreign object. 

" It's finally happened." said Remus quietly. " I never thought it would be this quick though. "

" What about Harry?" said Sirus. " If Azkaban isn't safe, then what about Hogwarts?"

" I supposed that's where he's headed next. After Voldemort's have followers returned to him, he's out to take revenge on his enemies, and I bet you Harry's first on his list." said Remus.

" So, what do we do?" Sirius asked. 

" First, we send an owl to Dumbledore, telling him to have extra securities around. Second, I suppose I'll have to go Hogsmeade for awhile and be there so if anything goes wrong..." Remus replied.

" What do you mean by _I_ Moony? I'm going with you."

" You're not Padfoot! It's way too dangerous. Especially when everyone is one the lookout for escaped prisoners like you!" 

" What do you want me to do then, huh?" said Sirius hotly. " Sit around and watch my godson in get killed by the same wizard also murdered his parents?"

" But you'll make matters worse if you were caught." said Remus. " Besides, there are other things to do. Like Dumbledore said before, we need to round up everyone."

" I don't care what you say, I'm going" said Sirius flatly. "_ You_ can stay here and round up the others. If you go, people are going to wonder why you're there, but I can stay in Animagus form. Also, if You-Know-Who doesn't show up in less than a month, what are you going to do if Snape isn't there make the potion for you? Cause more trouble by turning into a warewolf?"

Remus sighed. " There's no use in me trying to tell you not to go, is there Sirius? Well, I have an idea. Why don't we send owls to everyone telling them to meet us at Hogsmeade, because we are both going. I don't trust you to go alone, and you can track down Snape if...well, there was a need for him." 

" Good. I'm glad you see it my way." Sirius said with a smug grin.

__

This should be interesting...Remus thought.

* * *

" Hey! Over here!"

Isabella stopped walking and turned around. Draco Malfoy was standing in front of a stone gargoyle, a wide smirk spread across his face.

" I got something to show ya." he said, turning to the stone gargoyle and muttered something_._ The statue then moved aside, revealing a long staircase.

" Crabbe and Goyle were talking about all the stuff they ate for snack when we passed by this place. Crabbe was talking about something the muggles call "peppermint sticks" when this gargoyle moved. Naturally, I took a look and went up the stairs, and it leads to Dumbledore's office. Wanna go and have a look at Harry's record? You'll be surprised all the stuff he's done..."

Isabella thought for a moment. " Are you sure we're talking about _Harry_?" she asked.

" Not only him, but Ron and Hermione, too." Draco said.

" _Hermione?_" curiosity took the better of her. " Hmm...well, it never hurts to just have a look..."

" Well, shall we?" 

" All right." 

They slowly made their way up to the office until they heard two voices conversing with each other. Isabella's heart quickened as she and Draco froze.

" _Ookay_, I'm thinking we do this some other time." she whispered.

" Shhhhh! Listen!" Draco hissed.

" Severus, have you read the Daily Prophet lately?" asked a familiar voice.

" Yes, Professor Dumbledore. I only freed the prisoners, but it seems the dementors became his allies too." Snape answered.

" Don't give up. If I know him, he'll show up here. Just stick to the original plan and this time, we'll get him. Remember that." said Dumbledore.

" I don't know if it's going to work. Do you really believe that he bought the story? Voldemort isn't dumb, you know." Snape said reluctantly.

" No, he isn't. But to him, the fact that you released the prisoners in Azkaban showed him your loyalty."

" Yes, I see. I shall inform you Professor, if anything new happens."

" Oh, Severus. One other thing before you go. I have just received an owl from Remus . He and Sirius will be shortly arriving here. Please make arrangements for them to stay awhile. I have a feeling that we will need all the help we can get..."

Isabella and Draco looked at each other. 

" Sirius is coming _here_? This must be something big." Isabella whispered.

" Yeah, that's nice, but let's get out of here before Snape comes and turn us into ugly, warty toads." Draco whispered back.

" I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mr. Malfoy and Miss _Black._" Both looked up at the same time and saw Professor Snape standing on the top of the stairs, his eyes glistening evily. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Okay. I know. Cliffhanger (don't you hate these things?) Actually, I just got really tired of writing, so I stopped here. In fact, I really don't have a clue about what will happen next, so if you have a good idea , just e-mail me at [classygurl879@yahoo.com][1]. 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all except for Isabella. All characters belong to the adored J K Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishings and Scholastic....

By the way, do you think that I should make each story longer and take more time uploading them, or should I just make it this long, becuz I find that other stories are longer than mine.

" 

   [1]: mailto:classygurl879@yahoo.com



	4. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides Isabella.  
Author's note: Sorry, but I kind of didn't want to write these stories anymore. Heck, I didn't get a lot of reviews in the last story I wrote, so I figured I'll stop. But today, I got really bored. So I wrote this.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Draco and Isabella looked at each other meaningfully. From the nervous look on their faces, they were thinking along the same line. _This is the end of our young lives._ Reluctantly, both stood up and followed Snape, who's eyes glittered maliciously as he lead them towards the dungeons and into his office.

" Well, well, well." Snape snarled. " What do we have here? A couple of pranksters, I see, trying to break into _Dumbledore's_ office. I do believe that deserves a heavy punishment, expulsion, perhaps?"

" Oh, but sir. We were only going to find Dumbledore. You see, Draco saw in the Daily Prophet that the prisoners and dementors were missing from Azkaban. Naturally, he informed me the news . When I heard this, I was both shocked and worried about the safety of Harry Potter, so I asked Draco to tell me where Dumbledore's office was, hoping that the headmaster would assure me that something was to be done immediately due to this situation." Isabella said deceivingly. Draco secretly wondered how she could lie so convincingly, but didn't dare say a word besides nodding his head in agreement.

" Then why didn't you two leave when you noticed Dumbledore was busy in a meeting with me? Or better yet, how did Draco know the password to the entrance of the office?" Snape demanded.

" We knew the password because Goyle said pepermint sticks one day and the stone gargoyle thing moved." Draco said truthfully. " And we were about to leave when you came out. I guess it was just bad timing, huh?"

Snape narrowed his eyes into two tiny slits at the two students. " I don't believe a single word you've just told me." he spat.

" Well professor, its too bad that you don't have proof against us." Isabella said replied silkily, her eyes locking with Snape's. An uncomfortable silence filled the air as Draco watch the two in amusement, wondering if either one of them will snap. After awhile, Snape suddenly reached into his robes and pulled out a small bottle filled halfway with clear liquid.

" If ever my hand slips, Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy, and a little bit of this truth potion lands inside your goblets during dinner, I'll have all the evidence I'll need." he said quietly. " So don't think you two got away from this, because I _will _catch you. Now off you go."

Isabella crossed her arms and gave Snape a wide smirk. " Alright, but if you give me that truth potion, don't be shocked if _my_ mouth ever slipped about overhearing a _secret mission_ you and Dumbledore were discussing today. Some people might be interested to hear it..." she said as she followed Draco out of the office, closing the door behind her with a piercing slam.

* * *

" How the hell did you do that?" Draco asked. " I mean, intimidate a professor like _Snape_. I don't think he was humiliated like that before, ever!"

Isabella shrugged. " It was his fault. The way he treats his students besides you like crap. Let's just say he got what was coming."

" Well, there goes me being his favorite." Draco sighed. " How am I supposed to pass potions now?"

" You know, I could help you..." Isabella said softly.

Draco stopped walking and turned towards her. " Are you sure? I mean, don't I seem annoying to you? Because I really wanted you to like me." he stammered at the last part. 

Isabella blushed. " I-well, I like you too. Its fun hanging out with you, besides the fact that we weren't far from getting expelled today."

Draco laughed. " I knew I was going to like you, Isabella. From the first time I saw you..." he caught himself and turned pink.

" Well, its getting late. I have to get back or everyone will be worried, so bye for now!" Isabella said as she gave Draco a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off towards the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

By the time Isabella went and talked to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they basically knew the whole story. 

" I just got an owl from Remus, and he explained everything to me." Harry said, his pale face twisted into a worried look. " I knew it. Voldemort is after me now, and there's nothing to stop him."

" What about Dumbledore?" Hermione said soothingly. " You-Know-Who is afraid of him."

" So? He has a whole entire army on his side. Look at who we have on our side: Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius, and some of their friends. Eventually, You-Know-Who will conquer them." Ron said. He then took one look at Harry, who's face now turned chalk while. " Uh- wait, I mean, Dumbledore will stop him and-"

" JUST SHUT UP !" everyone yelled. Ron's ears turned scarlet and fell into silence.

After awhile, Isabella spoke up." Well, maybe its time to be...prepared."

Harry turned to her. " What do you mean?" he asked.

" I mean, you should practice defending yourself." Isabella said quietly. " Not just stupid Jelly-Legs, or Leg-Locker or shouting _Expelliarimus!_ , I'm talking about _real_ defense."

Hermione looked outraged. " But you don't mean...the Unforgivable Curses? Gosh, are you crazy?"

" What else is there Hermione?" Isabella snapped. " Go up and have a heart-to-heart talk with Voldemort or beg him to spare your life? You think that's going to work?"

" Those are illegal when practiced on a human being!" Hermione protested. " If you use it on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Harry, it's a lifetime in Azkaban!"

" So?" Harry said. " Auror's were free to use these curses, and if I kill or hurt Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time, I _think_ there would be an exception made. Isabella's right. I have to be prepared for this. I just can't run next time I see Voldemort."

" Even so," Hermione went on. " Remember what Moody said last year? Only advanced wizards could use the Unforgivable Curses, and who's going to teach it to you?"

" Well, there are some books about it in the Restricted Section of the library." Ron replied in a mischevious tone. " If we use the Invisibility Cloak, Harry..."

" There's no need for that." Isabella said. " I could teach you."

All eyes turned towards the new girl.

" How do you know how to perform dark arts?" Hermione questioned.

Isabella shurgged. " My dad used to be a Defense Against Dark Arts teacher. The summer when I was a first year, I came into his study and came across a book explaining these curses, and I performed them on some gnomes in my yard." she shuddered. " Well, it worked."

" So you can help me?" Harry asked.

" Yeah, sure. But you have to promise me one thing, Harry." Isabella said solemnly.

" What's that?"

" Never use it unless you absolutely need to, even if you're practicing it on the tiniest creature alive. Know that they are suffering because of you."

" All right."

" Then meet me outside of Hagrid's Hut tomorrow afternoon at four."

* * *

It was dark, damp day as Harry made his way towards Hagrid's cabin. He saw Isabella leaning on the door, her silky, curly, dark hair blowing wildly in the wind, and her cheeks turning pink from the cold weather.

" Hi" Harry greeted nervously

" Ready?" she asked.

" Yeah, I think so. I just don't know if I could do it..."

" Don't worry. It might be a little hard to master at first, but it helps that you've learned some advanced curses before. Hagrid has a class in the Forbidden Forest with the sixth years, so we can use his cabin. Let's go inside. I don't know about you, but I'm freezing."

Reluctantly, Harry followed Isabella's lead and went inside the cabin. He then took off his cloak and sat down at a small, round table, ready for his lesson. 

" _Acio jar_ " Isabella summoned. Suddenly, a small, glass jar flew from the window and into her outstretched hand. Inside was a small cricket, jumping on small twigs and leaves, not knowing its unwelcoming fate. She then took her hand and gently lifted the cricket out of the jar and put in on the table, placing a leg-locker curse on it so it won't run off.

" First, you need to concentrate hard on the cricket. " Isabella explained. " Think of what its like to go into its mind and control it. Imagine that you _are_ the insect. Then, slowly whisper _Imperio_. It's important that you keep your eyes on the victim though, or else it won't work. Finally, telepathically command it to do something, anything you want. It should work."

Harry stared hard at the cricket, his mind wondering what its like to be it. Living in a tree, perhaps, eating leaves and garbage all day long, hopping joyfully from one branch to another, singing songs at nighttime...

" _Imperio "_ he whispered softly.

Nothing happened except several red sparks shot out of his wand, but somehow Harry knew the spell had worked. It was as if he and the cricket now had this invisible link between each other. He could tell it a command and know it would immediately obey, like trained pet. 

" Now, I'll remove the Leg-Locker curse, and you make it do something extraordinary." Isabella ordered.

__

Hmm...How about you doing a backflip for me? Harry thought. The cricket obediently jumped into the air and did a perfect backflip. Isabella was amazed.

" How could it be?" she muttered.

" What?" Harry asked quizically. " The spell worked, didn't it?"

" Harry, do you know how long it took most wizards to master that? 30 days at least!"

" How long did it take you?"

" twenty minutes, but I was tested as a genius. But you only took five minutes!"

" So?"

" Nothing, I guess. I mean, first, its surviving Avra Kedavra, then its finding out you're extremely talented in performing Dark Arts. It's just a little ...weird. Never mind, lets just go to the next one. The Cruciatus Curse. This one is a little trickier. You have to think of what its like for um, your victim to suffer pain." Isabella said uneasily.

" It would be so much easier if Malfoy was here." Harry said dryly.

Isabella rolled her eyes. " Then just say _Crucio_ and as long as you make eye contact with it, the curse will not be removed."

This one didn't turn out to be hard for Harry. He just recalled Snape. The viscious glares, the threats, making him look bad on every occasion possible, and that wide _smirk._

" _Crucio"_ he said, and watched in horror as the insect rolled its quivering body on its back and started madly kicking his legs in the air, silently screaming in painful agony. To Harry, it brought back terrible memories of himself also being tortured like this on the night of the final Triwizard Tournament. He then turned his eyes away and the curse was broken.

" Now, for the last one." Isabella said quietly. " It's the toughest one of all. Avra Kedavra... I suppose you really have to hate someone in order to perform this curse correctly. I doubt you could do this one, Harry, but you could try..."

" Let me guess, think of murdering the thing and then yell _Avra Kedavra_." Harry said.

" Right."

This time, Harry found this task harder than the others. 

" Avra Kedavra." He shouted.

It was no use. The cricket only flinched slightly.

" That's just what I thought." Isabella sighed.

" What?"

" Do you understand _why_ this is Dark Magic? Partly because it's illegal, but mostly because mostly only evil wizards could perform these kinds of spells. Harry, you couldn't think of anyone you would want to kill, not even Voldemort. I guess you would want to see him hurt, but the your hate for him only goes that far. "

" He KILLED my parents!" Harry yelled, his hands trembling. " and then he took my blood to make himself rise again, so he could finish me off too." He suddenly eyed the cricket, waved his wand into the air, and screamed :" _Avra Kedavra!"_

The insect was dead before it hit the table.

" Oookay... I could've been wrong..." Isabella said, her eyes looking at the lifeless insect.

* * *

" Wormtail" Voldemort hissed." Come here."

" What is it, my master?" Peter Pettigrew asked as he bowed deeply.

" Is everything ready?" the Dark Lord questioned.

" Yes, my Lord. I have informed all the Dark Eaters as well as the Dementors. " Peter flinched as he saw the Dark Mark on his arm becoming darker and darker. " They should be here soon." he added.

" Well, Wormtail for once you've done your job correctly." Voldemort snarled. " As soon as they get here, we shall go over our strategy. If all goes well, we shall Apparate to Hogwarts as soon as possible. I'd say about three days from now." 

" Three days? Master, do you think we would be ready in that amount of time? Pardon me, but maybe we should choose a later date to invade."

" Why would you say that?" Voldemort asked, his eyes glowing fiery scarlet. " So there could be enough time for Dumbledore and his followers to be armed and ready for an attack? Are you being disloyal to me, Wormtail? Because if you were..."

" N-no! N-no! " Peter gasped. " Please forgive me, my Lord. You must understand that never would I ever be disloyal to you." he stammerd.

" Hmm...perhaps you're right. Well, here's something for you to remember, just in case you ever question on your loyalties. _Crucio_!"

Peter screamed like his whole body was on fire, like he was sliced again and again with sharp knives digging and slashing into his skin. The sensation was unbearable, and he felt like even cold, hard death would be better than the pain he felt.

* * *

Harry woke up in his dorm, breaking into a cold sweat.

The dream. He had it again. Slowly, Harry yanked the covers off his bed and put on his Invisibility Cloak and tiptoed downstairs, careful not to make any noise as he made his way through the common room and into the Portrait Hole.

__

Dumbledore. He thought. _I must inform him. He has to know._

But where was Dumbledore? Surely he wouldn't be in his office in the middle of the night? But Harry had no choice. Where else was he supposed to look for him? If only he had his Marauder's map with him... 

So, quietly, he whispered the password to the stone gargoyle, walked up a flight of stairs, and knocked on the door. 

Miraculously, Dumbledore was still up.

" Come in" he yelled.

Harry turned on the knob and walked inside. He had been in this office many times before, and it still looked the same as the first time he saw it. 

Getting the courage, he approached towards Dumbledore at his desk, who looked more tired and ill than ever. " Professor, I have something to tell you. "

" Yes?"

" I just had a dream."

" What was it about?"

" Voldemort, Professor." Harry said softly, trying hard to keep his voice steady. " He's coming. In three days, he's coming here."

* * *

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Author's note: yeah, I know. Why didn't Voldemort come that night instead of spending three days coming up with a plan? Well, because I'm getting really tired right now and didn't feel like writing about some huge invasion.

__


End file.
